1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to a device adapted to be employed in opening and closing the discharge orifice of a sealed container, and more particularly to an improved drip-proof probe for sequentially extracting toxic liquid from a shipping container and washing residue of the toxic fluids therefrom.
As is more fully discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,923,203, to David L. Anderson, Jr., incorporated herein by reference thereto, in the field of agriculture, large acreages must be treated through an application of suitably diluted toxic chemicals, commonly referred to as Ag chemicals, for effectively destroying noxious plants, insects, and the like. As also therein disclosed, it is a common practice to transport toxic chemicals in a concentrated liquid form to or near a situs of use and thereafter to dilute the toxic chemical by employing water and the like. Normally, such chemicals are transported in an original shipping container from which the chemicals are extracted and introduced into a mixing system within which the chemical is mixed with water or some other suitable carrier.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Mixing of the chemicals often is achieved through a use of mixing tanks and the like within which a diluting fluid, such as water, is thoroughly mixed with the toxic chemical. Unfortunately, as can readily be appreciated by those familiar with use of toxic Ag chemicals, contamination resulting from spillage and the like may result in a handler being seriously or even fatally injured.
In order to avoid apparent dangers attending the handling of Ag chemicals, substantial interest has been shown in the design of and use of closed systems which can be employed by workers in the mixing of toxic chemicals without being subjected to contamination resulting from dermul contact and/or inhalation.
While various systems have been proposed, such as the system disclosed in the aforementioned United States Letters Patent, and the probe disclosed and claimed in the aforementioned application, of which this application is a continuation-in-part, efforts are continuing to provide systems which are economic to fabricate, simple and reliable to employ.
For example, it has been found to be highly desirable, for numerous reasons, to provide a probe which may, in use, be inserted into a substantially sealed container for extracting therefrom the contents thereof and thereafter employ the probe in washing the residue of the contents from the container. Moreover, for similar reasons, such a probe should have a capability for avoiding unwanted discharge from the lines connected thereto, once the probe is disconnected from the container, as well as for preventing a dripping of liquids from those surfaces previously exposed to toxic fluids of the container.
It is therefore a general purpose of the instant invention to provide a substantially drip-proof probe adapted to be inserted to a substantially sealed original shipping container for toxic fluid of a type frequently referred to as an Ag chemical, and employed for sequentially extracting toxic fluid from the container and washing toxic residue of the fluid from the internal surfaces of the container, whereby handlers of the toxic fluid are substantially protected from contamination resulting from contact and inhalation.